Thank You, Pepper
by avengerteam
Summary: A series of one-shots with Pepper interacting with the rest of the Avengers. She's part of their family!
1. Chapter 1

**Here it is, everyone! My second fic! I'm planning to make this a series of one-shots, so advice about the other Avengers is always welcome!**

**Disclaimer: I am a poor teenager who owns nothing.**

Steve

Pepper tapped into the tower. It was a saturday, and she glad to be going inside away from the wind and the freezing sleet that was beginning to overtake the two feet of snow that had been unseasonably dumped on the city in late October. The first thing she saw was Steve, sitting in the lobby by the door, wearing a coat and holding a dozen roses. He had a look on his face that reminded her of Tony when he wanted to do something that would be painful or dangerous.

"Steve, where are you going?" Pepper asked.

"Nowhere, now," he replied, giving her a small, sad smile. "Too much snow. The buses aren't running, and there's no way a taxi's going to come in this. Normally, I walk it every week, but..." he shuddered slightly and ran a hand over his face. "I don't do well with cold and wet anymore."

Pepper sighed inwardly. She needed to talk to Tony about the board of directors, and there was a pile of paperwork sitting upstairs waiting for her. But something about the sadness that Steve tried to hide always got her. "Wait here."

Steve looked at her, clearly confused, as she walked across the lobby and dumped the pile of notes and papers she was carrying onto a plush chair. "JARVIS? Can you please notify Tony that I need him to take this upstairs for me?"

"_Of course Miss Potts. I shall inform him immediately."_

Ten seconds later, she was back at Steve's side and was nudging him gently towards the door. "I don't know where we're going, so you had better be good at directions," Pepper teased him gently.

Steve opened his mouth, as if to protest, but she cut him off. "We are going, Steve. I'm driving. You can't talk me out of it, so don't even try." He closed his mouth and followed her outside to the sleek car at the curb. Pepper saw a tremor run down his body as the cold air and sleet hit him, but she opened the car door and said nothing.

The ride there was silent. Except for Steve's occasional instructions, not a word passed between them. Finally, they stopped at a small cemetery, deserted because of the weather, and Steve got out with the roses. Pepper stayed in the car; clearly this was something she didn't need to intrude on. She watched, though, as he trudged through the snow to a grave marked _Peggy Carter,_ and knelt in the cold next to it, laying the roses at the headstone and lowering his head. He sat like that for four or five minutes, unmoving. Just when Pepper was on the edge of going out to bring him in before he had a panic attack or got frostbite or something, he stood, wiping his eyes, and returned to the car.

When they got back to the tower, they rode the elevator up in silence. It dinged as they arrived at Pepper's office, and she stepped forwards.

She turned to look at Steve. "Same time next week?" she asked.

Steve looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Pepper?... Thank you."

Pepper smiled at him, and the elevator closed.


	2. Chapter 2

** Sorry about that! I accidentally posted chapter 1 twice. (Thank you systemman!) Here's chapter 2! **

Clint

He was hanging in the vent over the kitchen. Pepper could see him, his arm poking out of the side shaft just a little, even without JARVIS telling her discretely that he was there. Something had to be wrong. Either he meant to let her know that he was there, or he was bothered, or worried, or in trouble of some kind, because if he wanted to hide, she wouldn't be able to see him. He was that sneaky.

"Clint?" she asked softly. "What's wrong?" Even from where she was, Pepper could see him flinch a little when she addressed him.

"Nothing..." he finally answered, after several minutes of silence. Pepper waited. He could lie to her all he wanted. Eventually he would have to tell her the truth. She did this with Tony every once in a while. "Pepper?" Clint asked quietly.

"Yes, Clint?" she responded, equally soft.

"Natasha doesn't deserve me... I can't let her care about me, I'm not good enough for her. I'm weak... Loki took me, took me without a fight and got into my head and I tried to kill her..." The words were halting, broken, whispers. "How am I going to let her go?"

It wasn't a question meant to be answered, not really, but Pepper took a stab at it anyway. "Don't. Don't let her go, Clint. Keep her there with you. Clint Barton, you are an Avenger, one of the strongest people on the planet. But you're human, and so is Natasha. You're entitled to a little time letting it all out."

By now, she could see Clint's face above her, could see her words hit him. She finished. "Clint, we will always care about you. But Natasha really cares about you more than the rest of us, because she knows you best. Don't you dare let that go." Pepper looked down at the kitchen counter. "Don't you dare let that go." She looked back up. Clint was no longer visible in the vent, but she heard him anyway, quietly, but with more confidence than before.

"I won't. Thanks, Pepper."

She waited a minute to make sure he was gone, and left for work.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony

They arrived at the restaurant at six for dinner. For once, it was just them. All of the Avengers were busy; Clint and Natasha were out on a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D, Steve was at a hospital giving some sort of speech, Bruce was back at the tower, holed up in the lab Tony had built him, probably buried in some deep calculations, and Thor was visiting Jane in New Mexico.

A star-struck waitress ushered them to a table in the corner, out of sight and away from the prying eyes that inevitably followed them. She looked at Tony, slightly surprised, when he ordered a meal that she didn't even recognize on the menu. He had that distracted, head in the clouds look, the one he got when he was thinking about something big. They had a pleasant meal, Tony seemingly enjoying whatever it was that the waitress brought back for him, and walked back to the tower together.

The elevator hissed to a stop on the floor that Pepper and Tony shared, and they walked to the love seat in the middle of the room. Usually, they ended a night like this with a movie and some quiet time, just the two of them. She kicked off her heels and sat down, fully expecting Tony to sit next to her like he normally would, so they could snuggle and hug and just enjoy being together.

Instead, Anthony Edward Stark, genius, billionaire, inventor, businessman, philanthropist, knelt in front of her and pulled a small velvet box out of his suit pocket.

She heard him take as deep a breath as the arc reactor in his chest would allow, then he opened the box to reveal a beautiful ruby and diamond ring. "Virginia Potts. Pepper. I have known you for thirteen years. You are my friend, my confidant, my comforter. I want you to know that I love you. You're the reason that I flew that missile into space. I trust you, more than anyone else. Ever since Afghanistan you've been my reason for living. Pepper, will you marry me?"

For some reason, Pepper laughed. Tony looked slightly alarmed. "That was totally serious!" he said. He opened his mouth to continue, but before he could, Pepper leaned forwards and kissed him gently.

"Yes, Anthony Stark. I will marry you," she said when they broke apart. "That was an excellent proposal. I was just thinking, though, that at least you had the good sense to take me out to dinner and not try to make me an omelet." Tony laughed at that a little as he slid the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.

"If you want, I can still make you one," he offered. "We have time, it only took three hours before, and Steve has been working on improving my culinary skills." Pepper laughed and pulled him into a hug, their bodies balancing perfectly against each other.

"Pepper? I know I already said it, but I love you. Thanks for saying yes." She smiled into his chest.

"I love you too, Tony."

**I apologize if you have not seen Iron Man 2 and have no idea what I am doing with the omelet thing. Go watch the movie. I love that scene!**


	4. Chapter 4

Natasha

Pepper threw down her pen. She was finally finished with the monstrous stack of paperwork that had been sitting on her desk for almost a week. Usually, she didn't let things get that far out of hand, but she had been occupied with the remodeling of Stark tower, and hadn't had time to sit down and finish the papers.

She looked at her watch. Nearly midnight. The tower was almost deserted, just her, Natasha, and Thor. Pepper stood up. A walk around the tower, just to check on everyone, then bed, she decided. Every once in a while, she felt like she needed to see to everything herself, rather than having JARVIS do it. He was more than capable, but it was reassuring to see them in person and know that there was no need to worry.

Thor was first, his room only one floor above where Pepper had been working. She crept down the hallway, even though that wouldn't be any good if he was awake. Nobody but Natasha, and sometimes Clint, could sneak up on Thor. The god was asleep. Pepper smiled a little at his loud snores and moved on to Natasha.

Her room was empty. Pepper had walked up to it making just enough noise to be noticeable, knowing that if she tried to sneak around the spy, she might get attacked by a panicked Russian. The door had been ajar, and when she pushed it open, she could see that the bed was rumpled, but clearly vacant.

"JARVIS?" Pepper asked quietly. "Where is Natasha?"

_"Miss Romanoff is currently in room 334B, Miss Potts."_

"Thank you, JARVIS," she replied, heading towards the elevator. When the doors opened on the correct floor, she could hear the music immediately. Swan Lake, with all of its beautiful string parts, was filtering from the room that Natasha was in. Pepper hesitated, then knocked slightly, pushing the door open and sliding into the room.

For once, the spy didn't even notice that she was there. She was dancing, gracefully spinning and leaping in the bare room, a battered CD player at her feet. Pepper sat against the wall, watching her dance. She stayed there for almost half an hour before Natasha noticed.

Natasha's eyes widened. "How long have you been sitting here?"

Pepper shrugged. "Twenty five minutes or so." There was a pause. "I didn't know you danced."

"When I was a little girl."The assassin shrugged. "Now it makes it easier when I can't sleep, or after we get back from a mission and I need to relax." Pepper nodded, and left Natasha to dance.

A week later, Pepper was making nighttime rounds again. She found Natasha in the same room as last time. "Natasha..." she called softly to the dancing figure. Without missing a beat, Natasha turned in a graceful pirouette and faced Pepper. "I want to show you something."

She lead the confused dancer out of the meeting room and into the elevator. They stopped on the floor that contained the training center. Pepper handed Natasha a key card, black with a red spider on it. "Second door on the left," she said, naming the large room next to the gym where they stored all the old equipment. Natasha looked puzzled, but padded down the hall and keyed open the door.

She gasped. The room had been refitted as a danced studio. The floors were polished wood, three of the walls were mirrored. "The lights are adjustable," said Pepper. "And if you want different music, just tell me." She gestured to a rack of discs on the floor next to a state of the art stereo system.

Natasha popped in a disc and Tchaikovsky filled the room. She moved to the middle of the floor. Pepper turned to leave, smiling just a little.

Quietly, just under the music, she heard Natasha say "Thank you, Pepper."

Pepper quietly closed the door, leaving the assassin to dance the night away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Forgot to do this, sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I own squat. Sadly.**

Bruce

When she came into the room, he was still unconscious from the force of the Other Guy taking over his body. She rubbed his arm gently, and draped a blanket over him. The room was cold; Bruce hadn't used it in several months. A stack of his own clothing went next to his head for when he woke up.

Pepper sat back on her heels and surveyed the damage. There really wasn't very much. Tony had set up this room several months ago, just after he had asked her to marry him. It was soundproof, with a padded floor and walls, and everything was reinforced with steel and titanium.

She had no idea what had set the Other Guy into motion. Maybe it wasn't anything really, just one of those days. If she had another person in her, who was angry all the time, Pepper would bet that she would have times when they would just need to come out.

Pepper felt bad for Bruce. She knew he hated the destruction that the Other Guy did. She saw him wince when kids would tell him that they wanted to be the Other Guy. Bruce was a good person, and he had a good handle on things, but she knew that he wouldn't wish his superpower on anyone else.

She also felt like he didn't get enough credit for what he did, but he had made it very clear that he wanted no more publicity then he could handle, and Pepper respected that. Respected him.

Brushing the hair out of his face one more time, she stood to leave and give him some privacy.

"Pepper?..." Bruce's voice was still half asleep, tenuous, like a soap bubble about to pop.  
"Pepper? Thanks..." He trailed off as he fell back into sleep on the floor.

"You're welcome, Bruce," Pepper whispered, and she tiptoed out of the room.

**Sorry this was shorter. I wanted Bruce unconscious and vulnerable, and unconscious people don't have good conversations.**

**Thanks for reading, and REVIEW PLEASE!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: This does not belong to me, yada yada, same old same old.**

**Thank you, TonyStarkFan****! I was worried about the length.**

Thor

Pepper was just slipping on her heels when she heard the knock. "Come in," she called over her shoulder. The door opened, and Thor stepped into the room. The blonde god almost didn't fit through the door, but he managed, without even rumpling his suit or crushing the flowers he was holding.

Pepper smiled at the sight of Thor in a suit. He looked like a normal person, his long blonde hair combed, shoes shined to a sheen. "What's up, Thor?"

Thor looked at her, a confused expression on his face. "I do not know, Lady Pepper." He looked around the room for a second. "The ceiling, I suppose, and the lights. Is there something 'up' that should not be?"

Trying not to laugh at his confusion, Pepper waved the answer away. "Never mind. It's just a Midgardian expression. It means 'what is going on?'." She smiled at Thor. "What IS going on? Do you need something?"

Thor's expression cleared. "I was wondering if you might be able to help me?" He held out a electric blue tie that perfectly matched his eyes. "I do not know how to properly adorn myself with this strange attire."

"Oh, it's easy," Pepper told him, moving across the room with the ease of one who has spent years in heels and taking the tie from Thor's hands. "Cross these two ends, put the thick end through here... and pull it tight." She finished sliding the knot up to Thor's shirt collar. "Remind me later, and I'll teach you how so you know how to do it." She stepped back and looked him up and down, then fixed one of his cuffs so it folded properly. "What kind of flowers are those? I've never seen them before." The flowers were beautiful, shades of red fading into almost a purple on the delicate blossoms.

"They are of Asgard, from the palace gardens. My mother loves to grow them. Jane told me she loves flowers, and I know nothing about your Midgardian types."

"Well, I'm sure she will adore them," Pepper replied, giving the god a smile. "I think you're ready to go."

"My thanks, Lady Pepper, for your assistance."Thor rumbled, carefully leaving the room.

Pepper held back a giggle. Even through the walls, she could hear him asking Steve what was up, and assuring him that it was not the sky, explaining his new knowledge of the strange Midgardian custom. She fixed a strand of loose hair, and walked out to join them.

**Hope you liked Thor! Does he sound okay? Also, for the record, I have no idea how to tie a tie, so I had to look it up. Review, please!**


	7. Chapter 7

Pepper

**Hey everyone! This is a long one, but I had to get everyone in there. I wasn't sure how this was going to work out, but as I was sitting in Spanish, bored out of my mind, IT SUDDENLY HIT ME! So here it is... hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing.**

Pepper was lounging on the loveseat in the rec room, the very loveseat that she had been sitting on when Tony had asked her to marry him almost a year and a half ago. JARVIS was playing a movie for her, but she was only half paying attention. Most of her energy was currently going towards trying not to laugh at the Avengers, minus Tony, who where crammed into the kitchen off to her right. They claimed to be making a baby shower cake, but based on the raised voices and the presence of jars o f paprika and several other interesting spices, Pepper assumed that the cake was going to be an interesting one.

Tony was at SHIELD, consulting about a tech problem that Pepper couldn't even begin to understand. It had taken her nearly twenty minutes to convince him that she would be okay if he left the tower for a few hours. She was still three weeks away from her due date, and the closer she got, the harder it was to get Tony to go and do anything away from her. _Not that it's a bad thing,_ Pepper mused, _but if he doesn't do something he's going to go crazy on me. _Tony acted like she was going to shatter, no longer letting her carry anything or do more than an hour's work.

The sound of breaking glass and several yells brought Pepper back to the present. She looked up, expecting to see a shattered bowl full of cake mix and odd spices, but instead she came face to face with the most terrifying creature she had ever seen.

It was vaguely humanoid, but that was where the similarity to a person ended. The thing's skin was blackened and charred, as if it had been recently burned, and it was stuck to the outside of the window as if it was glued there. Not even a second later, it was inside, having oozed its way through the hole it had smashed in the plate glass window of Stark tower.

Pepper rolled off the couch, flinging up an arm to protect herself, wrapping the other around her stomach, trying to protect the baby. In an instant, the creature was there, slashing at her with vicious claws. One of them caught her arm, and she gasped at the sudden pain that sparked through her.

It seemed as if everything was suddenly happening at once. Steve smashed into the creature, knocking it away from her and yelling in surprise as his skin blistered where he touched the being. Bruce was next to Pepper, pulling her to her feet and back to the protection of the kitchen, Thor sprinting by with Clint, Mjolnir in Thor's fist and Clint wielding a long dagger. Natasha was vaulting over a chair with a pistol in each hand, yelling at the others to back up. And just as she reached the kitchen's tiled floor, a sharp ripple of pain rippled through Pepper's abdomen, forcing her to stop moving and curl into herself.

_It's happening, _Pepper realized. _I'm going into labor on the kitchen floor with a monster in the rec room and Tony gone at SHIELD!_

"-eathe, Pepper, breathe!" Bruce was kneeling next to her, and Pepper was suddenly aware that she was on the floor behind the kitchen island. She nodded and tried to control her breathing and ignore the sounds of destruction from behind her.

Several pistol shots echoed through the floor, and the creature fell as Natasha finally got a clear shot at the creature. Even with two new holes in it's head, the thing took a moment to die. It was laughing, a hysterical, maniacal laugh. "Almossst," it hacked out. "Revenge on the death of my racccce was almossst mine..." It's laugh turned into a rattle and it went limp.

Thor spit on the fallen creature. "Chitauri. They begin to appear as this one does when they age. Lady Pepper? Are you all right?"

Pepper tried to answer, but ended up crying out in pain as another contraction ripped through her body. Bruce held on to her hand and reminded her to breathe, then looked up at the group. "Thor, pick her up. I need her in the med bay, now! JARVIS, contact Tony, please. Steve, come up so I can take care of your hands. Tash and Clint, do something about _that._" He nodded at the dead Chitauri on the floor.

"Is she going to be okay, Bruce?" Pepper heard Steve ask as the contraction ended.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. The baby's on the way, and I don't know if we have time to get to a hospital. Sometimes, when somebody gets a shock and a lot of adrenaline, their body decides that it's best for the baby to be out in the world. Now let's go!" Thor scooped up Pepper easily, cradling her in his arms. She clenched her jaw shut as her body shuddered again.

Forty-five grueling minutes later, her contractions were only a few minutes apart. Tony had arrived about fifteen minutes after Steve called him, and was sitting next to her, holding her hand and still wearing part of the Iron Man armor.

Bruce smiled and handed her the bundle. Pepper couldn't remember feeling more tired, but she laughed and took the baby from him, leaning into Tony. Baby Stark was, in Pepper's opinion, the cutest baby she had ever seen, with her daddy's nose and dark hair, wrapped in a little Iron Man blanket. "Pep?" Tony asked softly. "Can they come in?"

She nodded. "Of course." They were part of the family, and probably wanted to greet this new addition as much as she and Tony did. Bruce went to the door and opened it, laughing at the four Avengers who were immediately on their feet, waiting for the news.

"It's a girl!" Bruce said with a grin. There were smiles all around, and they crowded through the door and into the medical bay. To Pepper's surprise, they had balloons, gifts, and a cake that looked like it didn't contain paprika or any other spice. She laughed again and gave Thor a one-armed hug as he set a beautiful bouquet of the same flowers that she remembered him taking to Jane on the table next to her.

They chattered away for almost an hour. Everyone held the baby. Tony laughed at the sight of huge Thor and Steve with the little bundle, Steve a little awkwardly with his almost-healed hands, and Natasha had the biggest smile Pepper had ever seen on her when the baby was in Natasha's arms for the first time, Clint looking over her shoulder.

Finally, Bruce checked the cut on Pepper's arm one more time, asked JARVIS to keep him posted, and started shooing everyone out, claiming that Pepper needed to sleep. Tony kissed her gently and took the baby over to the cradle next to the bed. "Vivian Philippa Stark, I love you," he whispered, and went to go stand with the rest of the Avengers, who were still beaming at Pepper from the doorway.

"Thank you, Avengers. Thank you, family." Pepper said sleepily, looking at them.

"Thank _you, _Pepper," Steve finally said. He hesitated, then smiled. "We love you. Good night." The door closed softly. Pepper fell asleep, warm and happy, knowing that her family would always be there to look out for her and their baby girl.

**And... that's it! Hope you liked it! I will start a new fic soon, if I get a plot fish nibbling. Feel free to send suggestions or ideas that you would like to see, or suggestions for improving this fic! Thanks for reading!**


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